Credit card debt repayment is never an easy undertaking. This is true, especially if you have under engagements to undertake. But that shouldn’t be an issue if you have a proper plan. Below are three ways you could use it to pay off your credit card debt.

1. Settle the most expensive debt first.

Debts come at a cost. The most enormous amounts that take the longest to settle tend to attract the highest quantities of interest. That means you’ll have to pay more for the same loan amount. This should not be the case if you want to live a financially sober life.

You reduce the burden of accruing interests and potentially higher penalties if you default payment by first paying the most elevated amount.

Our mentality also matters when settling loans. The truth is, it’s easier to get the motivation to pay loans when you have lesser outstanding amounts. However, millennials must understand that the reverse is true. The more you owe a lender, the less motivated you are.

When the motivation is not there, the chances of defaulting are higher. We’re programmed to easily give up when we lose the motivation to do something. This is the risk you bare if you let the bigger loans stay on your to-do list.

Once the most considerable burden is sorted out, the smaller ones can be quickly dealt with. With time, you’ll realize the amounts left for you to clear are manageable.

2. Debt consolidation

There’s no need to have multiple debts. It’s easy to lose track of some, which may mean defaulting the loans. The best thing to do is consolidate these loans and have one bigger one that will occupy your mind.

At least that will let you focus, and you’ll be able to track progress. The amount will be cleared with time, and you’ll have the freedom to spend again.

When you have several loans, and each is accumulating interests at different rates, that can be risky. Lenders sometimes take advantage of borrowers. They’ll waste no time and hit potential clients with unnecessary penalties for non-existent things.

You can avoid such. Consolidating your loans will protect you from such lenders that want to take advantage. That’s why you should also weigh your options before making a decision.

3. Opt the cash way

If you cannot control how you use your credit card, please use cash. The problem with using credit cards is you lose your limits. It gives you the urge to keep spending your money without thinking twice. Sometimes, you spend money that you don’t have.

With cash, you cannot spend what you don’t have. That gives you the discipline to stop spending when you don’t have money. That works well to help you repay your loan. How so?

This is the trick; most people find themselves in bigger loans for spending more even when they understand they have other loans. So what this does is get them more loans.

When you use cash, the urge to spend money that you don’t have significantly reduces. In fact, it diminishes entirely and keeps you off from going for other loans.

Cash also saves you from unnecessary charges. In essence, you limit your expenses and only live within your means. This is a basic model that will lay off financial pressure from you.

Not only will you have extra amounts to reduce your loans but also reduce loans you owe lenders. So with that, you’ll find yourself in a better financial position.

Payment of loans is an important thing. You get a better credit score as well as peace. You get extra income to do projects that will change your life forever with time.

No business is safe from inflation, shortage of funds, or situations of urgent need of cash. Sometimes, the demand from clients surpasses the supply available. To take advantage of such opportunities, you may have to get a small loan to fund the operations. But there are more reasons why you should take a business loan.

Business expansion

Growing a business can be a hard thing to execute. At the ground level, you will feel an increase in demand for your goods/services. At that time, you may feel stretched to meet these demands.

If the demand persists, it may be time to expand your business. But, again, taking a loan will help you cover new overhead costs, develop business processes and other related activities.

Loans attract interest, and that is why you should undertake this process prudently. That way, you will get just enough to finance the expansion process and tiny to pay back for.

Improve credit rating

Lenders consider your previous credit behavior when processing your future loans. So, for example, you can take a small business loan to build up for bigger loans in the future.

Take the small loan and ensure you’re repaid on time. You can also use the money to expand some of your business units so that you recover the interest rate payable and not hurt your profit margins.

A small business will find challenges if the enterprise lacks a good credit history. That is why you should seek to improve your credit rating as early as now. Then, by the time you need that big loan, you’d have built enough history to earn it.

New business opportunities

Businesses expose the owner to newer opportunities. Visionary businessmen stumble upon opportunities, and that offers them a chance to make more money. But, unfortunately, by the time they’re meeting these opportunities, the money may not be there to take it up.

A small business loan can come through to help take advantage of this opportunity. But, the benefits of these opportunities must outweigh the debt burden of the small business loan. That way, you will make more money and comfortably refund the money owed in debt.

Human resource acquisition

It gets to a point in business when you need fresh talent to progress further. The process can cost money that the company may not be able to provide. Besides, as the staff gets trained for the first few days/months, they may not be skilled enough to bring in the revenue required to cover all costs.

The small loan will help the business continue with operations with a motivated team. As a result, cash flow will go on uninterrupted, and operations will continue. In the long run, the impact of the new staff will be felt, and the quality of service will generally improve.

This is a critical aspect of a business. Enterprises with competent staff register profits and last long. Those without end up with losses as clients start to find alternative providers. Commitment is critical, and these people impact the business.

Investing in talent brings results. It may be immediate or could take some time for some. But in the end, taking a loan to strategically invest in new talent bears fruits.

Capital investment

With time, you may need more equipment to meet the demand of your clients. For the business to grow, these needs must be completed as fast as possible. That is why you may need a small loan to buy more equipment. In addition, maintenance of existing ones or upgrading them may require additional funds.

Besides, as time goes by, business needs change. IT products are created every other time to optimize enterprises. That is why you need to continuously invest in technology and other equipment. This will help increase your revenue and profits.

Conclusion

As a business, you’ll be pushed to take loans by different factors time and again. Therefore, you must research well to know when the right time to get a loan is. That way, you’ll get great value from the debt and repay it comfortably.

Unsecured Loans are often the bread and butter of many individuals living in Singapore. It is a way for them to survive the high cost of living in Singapore.

The MAS has allowed individuals to obtain personal loans when they have the best need it. However, the recent guidelines have shown that they are going to reduce the loan limits further.

Historical Loan Limits

If you want to know the historical loan limits, they are the following:

• The original loan limit is up to 24 times the monthly limit.
• Since 2015, the unsecured loan limit has been reduced from 24 times the monthly limit to 18 times in 2017.
• By 2018, the unsecured loan limit is reduced to up to 12 times the individual’s monthly income.

The main purpose of this requirement is to make sure that the individual would have the capacity to pay his loan and not be too unduly burdened by it.

The basis of the rule is simple. If there are only 12 months in a year, there is no sense in allowing the borrower to obtain up to 24 times his monthly income as that is an undue burden.

The Statistics

The Credit Bureau of Singapore has released the following information about the credit situation in Singapore.

• There was a 6.65% increase in the total number of new credit applications in the second quarter of 2018 over the first quarter of 2018.
• Personal loan applications also have the highest growth of 11.4% increase from last quarter.

Is there a limit to the limit? Yes. The rule on monthly limits does not apply if the unsecured loans are for the following situations:

• When it is intended for business, and there is a requirement and business plan submitted;
• When it is to be used for medical purposes;
• When it is intended for educational purposes; and
• Those borrowers who have an annual income of at least S$120,000 and borrowers with net personal assets exceeding S$2 million.

Math Logic

Let us discuss the mathematics in this new limit:

Before, if you have a monthly income of S$5,000, it means that your new limit is up to S$60,000. If you have at least three credit cards with different financial institutions, you should have only had an outstanding balance totaling S$65,000.

Today, if you have a problem with an outstanding balance that exceeds S$60,000 or at least 12 times your monthly income for the last three months, you will be suspended and cannot charge any new loans until you have paid off your loan up to less than your outstanding balance.

Is this the only limit that I must look out for?

No, the MAS has implemented the Credit Limit Management measure to cap the additional unsecured credit. This is done so that the institution may extend to a borrower only those whose outstanding unsecured debts exceed six times his monthly income at the start of the year. This tight threshold is to make sure that the individual would have the capacity to pay off his debts and not have too much of it.

Are the measures for unsecured loans effective?

The MAS would always study the system before they are required to the public. They are characterized by the following:

• They are well-founded and have undergone an excessive system of study.
• They target individuals with excessive debt, not to mainly prevent them from loans but to help them get out of debt.
• They target individuals to restrain them from having to borrow more.
• This is to prevent them from the risk of being in default and delinquency.
• Finally, the measures are intended to prevent the borrowers from being declared in bankruptcy.

What is the end game?

In terms of the banks and the banking systems, the banks are aided from their high exposure to high-risk borrowers.

The end game is to make sure that there will be greater stability of the financial system in Singapore. The truth of the matter is that there are not a lot of people who support the new guidelines, but this is for the good of Singapore.

If you are affected by the above regulation, you can always get a loan from licensed moneylenders as they have their own loan limits which is different from banks. Visit Loan Advisor financial directory for reviews on licensed money lenders to get the best loan rates possible.